Maura Boldrini, MD, PhD

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Academic Appointments

Research Scientist in the Department of Psychiatry and Postdoctoral Residency Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry

Dr. Maura Boldrini, M.D., Ph.D. first joined Columbia University as a Postdoc, and was awarded the Janssen Postdoctoral Fellowship in Translational Neuroscience Research. In 2008 she became Assistant Professor and in 2013 was promoted to Associate Professor in Clinical Neurobiology in Psychiatry. She is a Faculty Mentor in the Doctoral Program in Neurobiology and Behavior at Columbia University and a member of the Columbia Univ. Stem Cell Initiative and Data Science Institute. She has been a Kavli fellow since 2010 and has been invited lecturer by the National Academy of Sciences, received a Travel Scholarship from the Society of Biological Psychiatry, was selected presenter in the Late-Breaking Session of the Society of Biological Psychiatry’s 67th Annual Meeting, and in the Hot Topics Basic Session at 47th American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) Annual Meeting. She has been invited lecturer at meetings and Universities nationally and internationally. She is a member of the Society for Neuroscience, the Society of Biological Psychiatry, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the International Academy of Suicide Research (IASR), and the American Psychiatric Association. Her research has been supported by: NIMH, NINDS, New York State Stem Cell Initiative (NYSTEM), the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF or NARSAD), and the Diane Goldberg Foundation. She continues to lead the Neurogenesis Laboratory in the Division of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology at Columbia Univ./New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI). She is currently the PI of an NIMH R01, an NINDS U01, an AFSP Standard Research Grant and a BBRF (NARSAD) Independent Investigator award. She is Co-I on two NYSTEM Imaging Core Facilities for Stem Cell Research and a Conte Center for Suicide Prevention at Columbia University. In 2014 her appointment at Columbia Univ. changed to Research Scientist and Postdoctoral Residency Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry, as she started a second Residency in Psychiatry (part-time) at Columbia Univ./New York Presbyterian Hospital/New York State Psychiatric Institute, while she continues being the PI on her grants and direct her lab, supervising postdocs, PhD students and research assistants. Topics of her publications have included: neuropsychological studies in patients with psychiatric disorders, psychopathology burden in patients with internal medicine diseases, genetic studies in eating disorders, studies on neurotransmitter systems in subjects with major depression and suicide. Major focus of her lab is currently on the regulation of stem cell biology and structural neuroplasticity in the human brain in mood disorders and suicide.

Research

I am interested in studying mechanisms involved in cell maturation and survival and how they are affected in mood disorders and with antidepressant treatment, and assessing the role of apoptosis in the cellular balance of the hippocampus in depression. I am investigating the relationship between the serotonergic system and neurogenesis, assessing the levels of expression of serotonin receptors and degree of neurogenesis in the human hippocampus. I am also investigating the effect of other medications, a reported history of childhood adversity and age on adult human neurogenesis, angiogenesis and trophic factors.

In my laboratory, current research focuses on studying adult neurogenesis and angiogenesis in the human brain. Adult neurogenesis is a mechanism of structural plasticity occurring in mammals including humans, which is necessary for learning and coping, shows adaptation to environment conditions and a significant response to medications. My research focuses on studying stem cells and their progeny in the human adult brain in the context of psychiatric, neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. I am quantifying stem cells, cells at different stages of maturation on the neuronal and glial lineage and angiogenesis in the human autopsy brain. I am assessing the impact of psychiatric disorders, age, stress and psychopharmacologic treatment on hippocampal neuroplasticity. I am studying trophic factors expression in correlation with levels of angiogenesis and neurogenesis in the human hippocampus.

I am currently involved as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator in research projects studying:

1. The relationship between trophic factors expression in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) and its correlation with the amount of neurogenesis and angiogenesis in the human brain.

2. Human adult neurogenesis in normal subjects and individuals with mood disorders and the effects of antidepressant treatment on human adult neurogenesis.